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Kit Fine

New York University, Philosophy, Faculty Member

The University of Birmingham, Philosophy, Faculty Member

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Drafts by Kit Fine

Mathematics and the Method of Abstraction

I provide a brief history and some philosophical reflections on the development of the method of ... more I provide a brief history and some philosophical reflections on the development of the method of abstraction in mathematics during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Keywords Abstraction-Frege-von Neumann-Cantor-Locke-Berkeley-Russell-Number This article is based upon an address I gave to a general audience in 2013, under the auspices of the Humboldt Foundation.

Verisimilitude and Truthmaking

verisimilitude and truthmaking, 2019

The main aim of this paper is to apply the recently developed framework of truthmaker semantics t... more The main aim of this paper is to apply the recently developed framework of truthmaker semantics to the problem of verisimilitude, or likeness to the truth. Some important initial steps in this direction were taken by Gemes [2007]; and some further steps have been taken by Yablo ([2012], §6.7). My own thinking on the topic is somewhat different from theirs, however, both in its general conception of truthmaker semantics and in the specific application of the semantics to the concept of verisimilitude; and my hope is that these various accounts, when taken together, will go some way towards demonstrating the general fruitfulness of the approach. My paper on partial truth (Fine [2018]) is an immediate precursor to the present paper; and the two papers on truth-maker content (Fine [2017a,b]) are precursors to the paper on partial truth. A paper on Popper's qualitative account of verisimilitude (Fine [2019]) also helps set out

Progressive Logic

This paper provides a formal account of non-circular reasoning, i.e. of reasoning in which the co... more This paper provides a formal account of non-circular reasoning, i.e. of reasoning in which the conclusion of an argument is not somehow presupposed in its premises. Martin (along with R. Meyer) had previously shown that the implicational system P-W does not contain as theorems any circularities of the form A -> A. This result is then extended to systems that also contain conjunction.

A Semantics for the Impure Logic of Ground

by Kit Fine and Louis DeRosset

We provide a semantics and proof of completeness for the impure logic of ground.

The Logic of Logical Necessity

Prior to Kripke's seminal work on the semantics of modal logic, McKinsey offered an alternative i... more Prior to Kripke's seminal work on the semantics of modal logic, McKinsey offered an alternative interpretation of the necessity operator, inspired by the Bolzano-Tarski notion of logical truth. According to this interpretation, 'it is necessary that A' is true just in case every sentence with the same logical form as A is true. In our paper, we investigate this interpretation of the modal operator, resolving some technical questions, and relating it to the logical interpretation of modality and some views in modal metaphysics. In particular, we present an hitherto unpublished solution to problems 41 and 42 from Friedman's 102 problems, which uses a different method of proof from the solution presented in the paper of Tadeusz Prucnal.

Quine on Essence

This is a contribution to the Handbook on Essence, edited by Michael Raven and Kathrin Koslicki. ... more This is a contribution to the Handbook on Essence, edited by Michael Raven and Kathrin Koslicki. In it, I discuss Quine's criticisms of de re modality and pay special attention to how they relate to his empiricism, to his tentative endorsement of physical necessity and to the non-modal conception of essence

The Structure of Joint Intention

I provide an account of response-dependence and consider how the concept of joint intention and s... more I provide an account of response-dependence and consider how the concept of joint intention and some other concepts might be explained in terms of response-dependence.
The paper was written for the Nagel/Dworkin colloquium in 2010 and is in very rough form. It replaces a previous version posted on Academia, which was indecipherable.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.pdf

The Essential Glossary of Ground

An essential guide to all those who wish to use or to understand ground-theoretic terminology.

Papers by Kit Fine

‘In Defense of a Global View of Vagueness’: Response to Andreas Ditter’s ‘Fine on the Possibility of Vagueness’

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘Reflections on Filtration’: A Response to ‘Modern Faces of Filtration’ by Johan van Benthem and Nick Bezhanishvili

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘Selective Programming’: Response to ‘From Felicitous Models to Answer Set Programming’ by V. Lifschitz

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

Kit Fine’s Autobiography

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘Refining Russell’: Response to Leon Horsten’s and Ryo Ito’s ‘Russell and Fine on Variable Objects’

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘The Algebraic and Structural Approaches to Truthmaker Semantics’: Response to Fabrice Correia’s ‘A New Semantic Framework for the Logic of Worldly Grounding (and Beyond)’

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘Defense of a Truthmaker Approach to Counterfactuals’: Response to Andrew Bacon’s ‘Counterfactuals, Infinity and Paradox’

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘To Be or Not to Be Disjunctive’: Response to Mark Jago’s ‘Conjunctive and Disjunctive Parts’

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘Situational and Informational Aboutness’: Response to Giordani’s “On the Notion of Aboutness in Logical Semantics”

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘The Ghost of Impossibility’: Response to Peter Verdée’s ‘Truthmakers and Relevance for FDE, LP, K3 and CL’

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘Truthmaker Foundations for Deontic Logic’: Response to Rothchild’s and Yablo’s ‘Permissive Updates’

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

Mathematics and the Method of Abstraction

I provide a brief history and some philosophical reflections on the development of the method of ... more I provide a brief history and some philosophical reflections on the development of the method of abstraction in mathematics during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Keywords Abstraction-Frege-von Neumann-Cantor-Locke-Berkeley-Russell-Number This article is based upon an address I gave to a general audience in 2013, under the auspices of the Humboldt Foundation.

Verisimilitude and Truthmaking

verisimilitude and truthmaking, 2019

The main aim of this paper is to apply the recently developed framework of truthmaker semantics t... more The main aim of this paper is to apply the recently developed framework of truthmaker semantics to the problem of verisimilitude, or likeness to the truth. Some important initial steps in this direction were taken by Gemes [2007]; and some further steps have been taken by Yablo ([2012], §6.7). My own thinking on the topic is somewhat different from theirs, however, both in its general conception of truthmaker semantics and in the specific application of the semantics to the concept of verisimilitude; and my hope is that these various accounts, when taken together, will go some way towards demonstrating the general fruitfulness of the approach. My paper on partial truth (Fine [2018]) is an immediate precursor to the present paper; and the two papers on truth-maker content (Fine [2017a,b]) are precursors to the paper on partial truth. A paper on Popper's qualitative account of verisimilitude (Fine [2019]) also helps set out

Progressive Logic

This paper provides a formal account of non-circular reasoning, i.e. of reasoning in which the co... more This paper provides a formal account of non-circular reasoning, i.e. of reasoning in which the conclusion of an argument is not somehow presupposed in its premises. Martin (along with R. Meyer) had previously shown that the implicational system P-W does not contain as theorems any circularities of the form A -> A. This result is then extended to systems that also contain conjunction.

A Semantics for the Impure Logic of Ground

by Kit Fine and Louis DeRosset

We provide a semantics and proof of completeness for the impure logic of ground.

The Logic of Logical Necessity

Prior to Kripke's seminal work on the semantics of modal logic, McKinsey offered an alternative i... more Prior to Kripke's seminal work on the semantics of modal logic, McKinsey offered an alternative interpretation of the necessity operator, inspired by the Bolzano-Tarski notion of logical truth. According to this interpretation, 'it is necessary that A' is true just in case every sentence with the same logical form as A is true. In our paper, we investigate this interpretation of the modal operator, resolving some technical questions, and relating it to the logical interpretation of modality and some views in modal metaphysics. In particular, we present an hitherto unpublished solution to problems 41 and 42 from Friedman's 102 problems, which uses a different method of proof from the solution presented in the paper of Tadeusz Prucnal.

Quine on Essence

This is a contribution to the Handbook on Essence, edited by Michael Raven and Kathrin Koslicki. ... more This is a contribution to the Handbook on Essence, edited by Michael Raven and Kathrin Koslicki. In it, I discuss Quine's criticisms of de re modality and pay special attention to how they relate to his empiricism, to his tentative endorsement of physical necessity and to the non-modal conception of essence

The Structure of Joint Intention

I provide an account of response-dependence and consider how the concept of joint intention and s... more I provide an account of response-dependence and consider how the concept of joint intention and some other concepts might be explained in terms of response-dependence.
The paper was written for the Nagel/Dworkin colloquium in 2010 and is in very rough form. It replaces a previous version posted on Academia, which was indecipherable.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.pdf

The Essential Glossary of Ground

An essential guide to all those who wish to use or to understand ground-theoretic terminology.

‘In Defense of a Global View of Vagueness’: Response to Andreas Ditter’s ‘Fine on the Possibility of Vagueness’

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘Reflections on Filtration’: A Response to ‘Modern Faces of Filtration’ by Johan van Benthem and Nick Bezhanishvili

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘Selective Programming’: Response to ‘From Felicitous Models to Answer Set Programming’ by V. Lifschitz

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

Kit Fine’s Autobiography

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘Refining Russell’: Response to Leon Horsten’s and Ryo Ito’s ‘Russell and Fine on Variable Objects’

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘The Algebraic and Structural Approaches to Truthmaker Semantics’: Response to Fabrice Correia’s ‘A New Semantic Framework for the Logic of Worldly Grounding (and Beyond)’

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘Defense of a Truthmaker Approach to Counterfactuals’: Response to Andrew Bacon’s ‘Counterfactuals, Infinity and Paradox’

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘To Be or Not to Be Disjunctive’: Response to Mark Jago’s ‘Conjunctive and Disjunctive Parts’

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘Situational and Informational Aboutness’: Response to Giordani’s “On the Notion of Aboutness in Logical Semantics”

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘The Ghost of Impossibility’: Response to Peter Verdée’s ‘Truthmakers and Relevance for FDE, LP, K3 and CL’

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘Truthmaker Foundations for Deontic Logic’: Response to Rothchild’s and Yablo’s ‘Permissive Updates’

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘Truthmaker Semantics for Relevance Logic’: Response to ‘Fine’s Semantics for Relevance Logic and its Relevance’ by Katalin Bimbó and J. Michael Dunn

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘The Postulation of Possibilities’: Response to Peter Fritz’s ‘Propositional Potentialism’

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘The Whole Truth: An Internal Perspective’: Response to Krämer’s ‘The Whole Truth’

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘Forms of Conditionality’: Response to ‘Truth-Maker Semantics for Some Substructural Logics’ by Ondrej Majer, Vít Punčochář and Igor Sedlár

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

‘An Epistemized Truthmaker Semantics for Epistemic Logic’: Response to Hawke’s and Özgün’s ‘Truthmaker Semantics for Epistemic Logic’

Outstanding contributions to logic, Dec 31, 2022

Comments on Robert Goldblatt’s “Fine’s Theorem on First-Order Complete Modal Logics”

Oxford University Press eBooks, Oct 29, 2020

I am grateful to Robert Goldblatt for his lucid and masterly chapter on “canonicity” in modal log... more I am grateful to Robert Goldblatt for his lucid and masterly chapter on “canonicity” in modal logic. The main result of Fine 1975a was that a modal logic being first-order complete (i.e. complete for a first-order class of frames) was sufficient for the logic to be canonical, i.e. for its canonical frames to be frames for the logic. But ideally what one would like is an equivalence. ...

The Philosophical Quarterly, Oct 1, 1972

The Problem of Possibilia

Oxford University Press eBooks, Jul 14, 2005

It is argued that actual objects are prior to possible objects, and that talk of possible objects... more

Bull R. A.. On the extension of S4 with CLMpMLp. Notre Dame journal of formal logic, vol. 8 no. 4 (for 1967, pub. 1968), pp. 325–329

Journal of Symbolic Logic, Sep 1, 1974

Logic for Exact Entailment

An exact truthmaker for A is a state which, as well as guaranteeing A's truth, is wholly relevant... more An exact truthmaker for A is a state which, as well as guaranteeing A's truth, is wholly relevant to it. States with parts irrelevant to whether A is true do not count as exact truthmakers for A. Giving semantics in this way produces a very unusual consequence relation, on which conjunctions do not entail their conjuncts. This feature makes the resulting logic highly unusual. In this paper, we set out formal semantics for exact truthmaking and characterise the resulting notion of entailment, showing that it is compact and decidable. We then investigate the effect of various restrictions on the semantics. We also formulate a sequent-style proof system for exact entailment and give soundness and completeness results.

I use truth-maker semantics to provide a formulation of the principle that no "Ought" can be der... more

Hale Introduction

Essence and Existence, 2020

An introduction to a collection of posthumous papers of Bob Hale to be published by OUP. It deal... more

survey of truthmaker semantics

I provide an outline of truthmaker semantics and some of its applications within the philosophy o... more

Truthmaker Semantics

I sketch an approach to situation semantics in which verifiers are required to be wholly relevant... more

Constructing the Impossible

I show how there is a very natural way of introducing impossible states into the framework of tru... more

Angellic Content

I provide a truthmaker semantics for Angell's system of analytic entailment.

A Theory of Partial Truth

I develop an account of partial truth within the framework of truthmaker semantics.

Counterfactuals without Possible Worlds

Journal of Philosophy, 109(3), pp. 221-46 (2012)

truthmaker semantics for intuitionistic logic

Journal of Philosophical Logic 43.2, pp. 549-77 (2014); reprinted in Philosophers’ Annual for 2014.

I provide a truthmaker semantics for intuitionistic logic which provides some kind of compromise ... more

A Note on Partial Content

I show that certain compelling requirements on the notion of partial content are inconsistent wit... more

Compliance and Command I

I develop a semantics and logic for categorical imperative sentences within the truthmaker framew... more

Compliance and Command II

I present a semantics and logic for deontic sentences within the truthmaker framework and relate ... more

An Abstract Characterization of the Determinate/Determinable Distinction

Philosophical Perspectives, vol. 25, no. 1, 161-87 (2011)

A Difficulty for the Possible Worlds Analysis of Counterfactuals

Synthese 289(1), 29-57 (2012).

Truthconditional Content - Part II

I provide an account of subject-matter, common content, logical difference and other such notions.

Truthconditional Content - Part I

I take propositions to be constituted by the exact conditions under which they are true and false... more

Review of Steve Yablo's 'Aboutness'

I compare Yablo's approach to a number of topics in truthmaker semantics to my own.

permission and possible worlds

Dialectica 68.3, 317-36, 2014

I argue that no possible worlds account of statements of permission can be correct if such statem... more

The World of Truthmaking

We consider some of the different ways to develop a semantics in which statements are evaluated a... more We consider some of the different ways to develop a semantics in which statements are evaluated at partial possibilities rather than possible worlds; we explore the question of how these different semantical schemes are related; and we argue for the surprising conclusion that classical logic can only be properly accommodated within such a semantics by allowing possible worlds to be among the partial possibilities.

Indeterminate identity, personal identity and fission

I show how the global approach to vagueness is able to deal with the problem of indeterminate ide... more

I attempt to provide a solution to the sorites paradox under the logico-global approach to vagueness

The Possibility of Vagueness

I develop a new theory of vagueness, which repudiates the notion of local indeterminacy (or borde... more

Vagueness, truth and logic

Synthese 30 (April-May 1975), 265-300. Reprinted in 'Vagueness: A Reader' (ed. Keefe and Smith), MIT University Press, 1996. , 1975

Page 1. KIT FINE VAGUENESS, TRUTH AND LOGIC 1 ... Let us say, in a preliminary way, what vaguenes... more

Some Remarks on Bolzano on Ground

I consider some ideas from Bolzano on ground and, in particular, his views on the relationship be... more

Ground and Truthmaker Semantics

A contribution to the handbook of ground (edited by Mike Raven) that is soon to be published.

the pure logic of ground

I set up a system of structural rules for reasoning about ground and prove soundness and complet... more

New Foundations for Essence and Ground

A Guide to Ground

A number of philosophers have recently become receptive to the idea that, in addition to scientif... more A number of philosophers have recently become receptive to the idea that, in addition to scientific or causal explanation, there may be a distinctive kind of metaphysical explanation, in which explanans and explanandum are connected, not through some sort of causal mechanism, but through some constitutive form of determination. I myself have long been sympathetic to this idea of constitutive determination or 'ontological ground'; and it is the aim of the present paper to help put the idea on a firmer footing -to explain how it is to be understood, how it relates to other ideas, and how it might be of use in philosophy. 1 the particle's being acted upon by a positive force made it true that the particle was accelerating; and similarly for (1) and (3).

Some Puzzles of Ground

criteria of identity and ground

I argue against some standard objections to identity criteria and argue that they should be under... more

Varieties of necessity

Modality and Tense (OUP), 2005

I argue that there are three basic kinds of necessity, metaphysical, natural and normative, non... more

the varieties of necessity

I argue that there are three basic kinds of necessity - metaphysical, natural and normative - non... more

the problem of possibilia

I consider the problem of providing an actualist reduction of possibilist discourse.

Williamson on Fine on Prior

I respond to the criticisms Williamson makes in his book 'Modal Logic as Metaphysics' to my propo... more

Necessity and Non-existence

I argue that, just as there is a distinction between tensed and tenseless statements, so there i... more

Modal Logic and Its Application to the Philosophy of Language

Properties, propositions and sets

Journal of Philosophical Logic, 1977

This paper presents a theory of extensional and intensional entities. The entities in question be... more

A Puzzle Concerning Matter and Form

The Problem of Mixture

'Pacific Philosophical Quarterly', pp. 266-369 (95). Reprinted in collection of papers of Aristotle on Matter published by Blackwell: Oxford (96).

I consider Aristotle's views on mixing and mixture.

Ratio, XI3 (1998). 278-287, reprinted in book form by Oxford: Blackwell.

A brief discussion of Aristotle's views on mixing and mixture.

Aristotle's Megarian Maneuvers

I attempt to explain Aristotle's acceptance of what appears to be a problematic modal principle.

Mathematics: Discovery or Invention

I give a brief popular exposition of the method of procedural postulation.

Our Knowledge of Mathematical Objects

‘Oxford Studies in Epistemology: vol. 1' (ed. T. S. Gendler & J. Hawthorne), 89- 110, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2005.

I propose a novel account of mathematics, procedural postulationism, according to which the objec... more

class and member

Journal of Philosophy CII: 11(2006), 547 - 572.

I develop a novel theory of classes which is cumulative with respect to the membership relation r... more

Cantorian Abstraction: A Reconstruction and Defense

In section 1 of his Beitrage i , Cantor explains the notion of cardinal number: We will call by t... more In section 1 of his Beitrage i , Cantor explains the notion of cardinal number: We will call by the name "power" or "cardinal number" of M the general concept which, by means of our active faculty of thought, arises from the aggregate M when we make abstraction of the nature of its various elements m and of the order in which they are given. We denote the result of this double act of abstraction, the cardinal number or power of M, by (3) M (double bar). Since every single element m, if we abstract from its nature, becomes a "unit", the cardinal number M (double bar) is a definite aggregate composed of units, and this number has existence in our mind as an intellectual image or projection of the given aggregate M. Later in section 7 of the same work, he gives an analogous account of order type: Every ordered aggregate M has a definite "order type", or more shortly a definite "type", which we will denote by (2) M (bar). By this we understand the general concept which results from M if we only abstract from the nature of the elements m, and retain the order of precedence among them. Thus the order type M(bar) is itself an ordered aggregate whose elements are units which have the same order of precedence amongst one another as the corresponding elements of M, from which they are derived by abstraction. Dedekind, in §73 of his Was sind und was sollen die Zahlen ii , gives a somewhat similar account of number-series:

Mathematics and the Method of Abstraction

A public lecture in which I explain and critique the methods of abstraction that were developed i... more

Response to Alan Weir

dialectica, 2007

I respond to some objections that Alan Weir has made to my doctrine of procedural postulationism.

I use the theory of arbitrary objects to provide an account of form.

acts and embodiment.pdf

I use the theory of embodiment to develop a pluralist account of the identity of acts.

Chisholm's puzzle revised-

I propose a non-inferential version of Chisholm's puzzle and consider how it relates to the infer... more

The Identity of Social Groups

I apply the theory of embodiment to various questions concerning the identity of social groups.

Arguing for Non-Identity

towards a theory of part

I espouse two main doctrines: pluralism, according to which there are fundamentally different way... more

essence and modality

the reality of tense

1 1 I have in mind that there is a sentential operator 'in reality, __' by means of which the var... more 1 1 I have in mind that there is a sentential operator 'in reality, __' by means of which the various realist claims are to be made ). This paper should be regarded as a summary of views which are elaborated at much greater length in Fine [2005] and I have made no attempt to engage with the extensive literature on the topic.

tense and reality

There is a common form of problem, to be found in many areas of philosophy, concerning the relati... more

In Defense of Three Dimensionalism

what is metaphysics

I characterize metaphysics as it has traditionally conceived and provide a partial defense of its... more

fundamental truth and fundamental terms

I argue against Sider's focus on fundamental terms in this book 'Writing the Book of the World' a... more

the question of ontology

Acts, Events and Things

Language and Ontology, Proc. 6th Wittgenstein Symposium, 1982

An early account of rigid embodiment and segmentation in application to the ontology of events an... more

The non-identity of a material thing and its matter

Mind, vol. 112, 195-234, 2003.

I—Coincidence and Form

How can a statue and a piece of alloy be coincident at any time at which they exist and yet diffe... more

The Question of Realism

I provide a framework within which to discuss the debate between realists and antirealists.

Urquhart on Arbitrary Objects

I respond to Alasdair Urquhart's paper on my theory of arbitrary objects and discuss, in particul... more

A defence of arbitrary objects

There is the following view. In addition to individual objects, there are arbitrary objects: in a... more

Natural deduction and arbitrary objects

Journal of Philosophical Logic, 1985

Comments on Paul Hovda’s ‘Semantics as Information About Semantics Values’

Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 2010

the role of variables

recurrence: a rejoinder

I respond to some criticisms that Nathan Salmon makes of an argument I made in my monograph 'Sema... more

semantic necessity

'Modality: Metaphysics, Logi and Epistemology' (eds. B. Hale, A. Hoffman0, OUP, pp. 65-80

Some Remarks on Popper's Qualitative Account of Verisimilitude

I set Popper's account of verisimilitude within a general framework, defend it against some commo... more

First-order modal theories III — Facts

This paper forms the third part of a series on the development and study of first-order modal the... more

Model theory for modal logic?part II the elimination of De re modality

Journal of Philosophical Logic, 1978

1995/1996: Transfer theorems for multimodal logics

by Kit Fine and Gerhard Schurz

Logic and reality: essays on the legacy of Arthur Prior

Many of the modal logics that have been developed contain two or more modal operators. A notable ... more Many of the modal logics that have been developed contain two or more modal operators. A notable example is the tense logic of Prior, which contains operators for both the past and the futnre. A more recent example is the logic of programs, which contains infinitely many operators, one for each program.

In so many possible worlds

Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic, 1972

I construct various modal systems for logics containing numerical modalities and prove soundness ... more

WRAP Thesis Fine 1969(1)

thesis, univ. of warwick, 1969

I investigate various systems of modal logic which contain numerical modalities and propositiona... more

Ignorance of Ignorance

I show, under plausible assumptions that it is not possible to know that one is ignorant of one's... more